Pancake
by ArwenLalaith
Summary: Tag to 'Rite of Passage'. She was upset and it was all his fault - though, not entirely because of the reasons he assumed... Co-written with Confetti Leaves.


The side of the bed dipped slightly under his weight as he slid under the covers next to her. His presence was deliberately ignored in favour of the book which she pretended to be intently focused on. Reaching out to place a comforting hand on her back earned him an annoyed huff in response as she shrugged him away.

"You're still pretending that I don't exist?" he asked, settling closer to her.

"Yep," she responded curtly, turning the page, maintaining the cold shoulder she had been giving him since Texas.

"Real mature..." he muttered under his breath. With a sigh, he plead, "Come on, baby. I had to do it – he was shooting at us and he almost got you."

"I told you, I..." she started to repeat, but stopped mid-sentence, shaking her head. "I'm not going through this again. You were impulsive and reckless – we've been through this a hundred times before."

"What I did might not have been right, but it was the only choice I had," he insisted, "Did you really think you had him? What were you going to do? Run into him with the SUV and pray that the airbags worked?"

"I don't know," Emily whispered, shrugging, "But that's not the point. The point is, when are you going to be more careful and stop taking stupid risks, putting yourself and others in danger?"

"Baby, I don't like putting others and myself in danger, but you have to admit, our jobs come with a certain level of danger," Morgan said softly, reaching for her hand, "I'm _trying_ to not take stupid risks, but what I did back in Texas, it wasn't stupid. He almost got you, Em. We all know he wasn't going to stop and I had to shoot."

She sighed heavily, shaking her head, knowing that there was nothing she could say that would change his mind.

"You're still mad at me?" he asked, sighing tiredly.

"Yes. Wouldn't you be if the situation were reversed?" she asked seriously.

"I don't know...maybe, but I know you wouldn't do it unless you had to. And I'd be angrier at myself because I wasn't there to protect you when you were in danger." He looked at her seriously. "You think I enjoy having someone shoot at me? You don't think I was scared?"

She studied him for a moment, then huffed, crossing her arms across her chest. "I really hate you for doing this," she muttered, "And my busted eardrum doesn't forgive you."

"Fine," he sighed, sliding out of bed and reaching for his pillow, "I'll be on the couch if you need me."

Sighing dramatically, she reached out for his hand to stop his progress. "No... You know I can't sleep without you." She gently squeezed his hand in apology.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she gently nuzzled her head against his neck. "I'm sorry, I never meant to bust your eardrum."

"I know," she murmured, shifting to wrap her arms around his neck. "We'd probably be dead if you hadn't done something..." she reluctantly admitted.

He grinned smugly. "So, you admit that it was the right thing to do?"

"Don't push your luck," she said flatly, glaring at him playfully before stealing a quick kiss.

"I love you." He held her close, smiling into the kiss.

"I love you too," she murmured. Settling back against the headboard again, she sighed, biting her lip thoughtfully.

Her sudden silence didn't escape his notice. "Hey, is everything okay, baby?" he whispered, kissing her forehead.

She snapped out of her contemplative reverie. "Yeah." She worked up what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

He nodded, knowing there was something weighing on her mind, but deciding to give her space. "Should we sleep? It's getting late."

"Yeah...it's late," she agreed slowly, sinking down against the bed. She studied him curiously, confused by his lack of follow-up questions.

Morgan shifted to lay on his side, holding her close and kissing her tenderly. "Sweet dreams, baby."

She nodded, remaining silent for a moment, watching him close his eyes, then sighed. "You're not even going to ask any follow-up questions? You're not going to press me for the real answer?"

"Do you want me to ask?"

Emily looked at him pointedly, "You never let me off so easily...why start now?"

"I'm trying to get you to talk to me instead of having me push you for answers all the time," he whispered, running his hands down her back. "You're my wife, not a suspect I brought in for questioning. I don't like having to push you to the edge before you tell me what's on your mind."

"Alright, I'll talk," she sighed, knowing that he was right once again. She looked at him with complete seriousness. "I'm pregnant."

It took several moments for her words to sink in before he actually understood what she said. He opened and closed his mouth several times, but nothing came out. "What?"

"Pregnant," she repeated. "We're having a baby."

"A...a baby..." He echoed, blinking his eyes several times as if to check if he had been dreaming before the goofiest grin bloomed brightly on his face. "We're having a baby. I'm going to be a daddy! Why didn't you tell me sooner? How long have you known?"

"About a week," she shrugged. "I wanted to wait until the moment was right, but it just never was..." She smiled softly. "You're really excited?"

"Of course, I am!" He pulled her in for a kiss, unable to stop himself from grinning foolishly. "We've been waiting for this baby for a long time. How far along are you?"

"Six weeks," she murmured against his lips, "Due in April."

He didn't say anything for a moment, revelling in the happiness of the news. Then, something dawned on him and his expression fell. "You were in the SUV when Boyd shot at us..."

"I remember," she said humorlessly.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" he asked, "He almost got you in the head, Emily. I could have lost you and the baby."

"I'm sorry," she apologized with complete honesty, "But it wouldn't have changed anything – I would still have been on the case, I would still have been in that car, and Boyd would still have been shooting at us. But we're both fine, so it doesn't matter."

"It does matter," he said softly, "I wouldn't have let you go on the case if I had known you're pregnant. Baby, I saw the bullet fly right past you." He tenderly caressed her forehead. "It would have been right here if you weren't fast enough... Do you know how much I would have lost if he'd got you?"

"I know..." she matched his quiet tone, "But you couldn't have kept me off the case – they still don't know about us."

"Then we'll let them know. We should let them know soon anyways. We can't hide this little peanut for too long..."

"I can picture it now... 'Oh, hey, Hotch. By the way, I've secretly been dating Derek practically since I joined the team, we got married a year ago, and now I'm pregnant with his baby...' That won't go over like a lead balloon at all," she said sarcastically.

"We have to tell them someday," he said reasonably, "We can't keep hiding our relationship forever. They're going to ask questions once you start showing. Like I said, I don't mind giving up my job if it means you get to keep yours; I can be a stay-at-home dad."

"I know," she repeated, "But I don't want you to have to give up your job. We both know it make more sense for you to stay – Strauss actually sort of likes you...more than she likes me, at least.

He sighed softly, running his fingers through her hair. "Let's not make any hasty decisions, we'll take things one step at a time. We have to let them know and see what Hotch says. They're going to be mad when they know that we've been married for a year and are having a baby..."

She nodded, pursing her lips. "They probably know something on some level, but they won't be happy when they realize how long we've been hiding things from them." She sighed. "But I'm sure they'll be happy for us...right?"

"I'm sure they will. They'll be mad for awhile, but after it blows over, they'll be happy for us." He smiled reassuringly, holding her close and kissing her lovingly. "I love you and I'm so happy you're having my baby."

"I love you too," she murmured against his lips, smiling as his hand came to rest on her still flat stomach. "I'm very happy to be having your baby."

Morgan grinned brightly, nudging Emily to lie on her back as he lifted her shirt up and pressed his ear against her stomach. "Hey, sweetheart, it's Daddy here. We waited so long for you. We thought you'd never come, but you're here. I love you so much," he whispered, pressing a kiss on her soft skin.

She stroked his head, smiling brightly as she murmured, "Baby doesn't have ears yet."

"Doesn't matter, Daddy will still talk to you anyway," he smiled happily. She could actually feel him shiver with excitement.

"You're such a good Daddy," she whispered softly, interlacing their fingers, resting their hands on her stomach.

"You think so?" She nodded and he had the brightest smile she had ever seen. "I can't wait until our baby gets here."

"Me either," she murmured, leaning into kiss him, but their tender moment was interrupted by the loud growling of her stomach. "Baby's hungry and making Mommy crave pancakes," Emily grinned.

"Pancakes?" he repeated, "Now?" He laughed softly, kissing her stomach again. "Can you wait, sweetheart? Daddy has to make them first." Moving up to kiss her lips, he commented, "Mama said when she was pregnant with me, she'd crave mashed potatoes with gravy on garlic bread."

Emily wrinkled her nose. "Sounds...charming. I guess I'm not one to judge, though – I'm sure I'll have some strange cravings before the little one arrives. But right now, we want pancakes."

"With chocolate chips and strawberries?"

"Mmm... Baby says yes," she laughed.

"Anything baby wants, baby gets. You know, I think we should call this little one Baby Pancake until we find a name we like."

She chuckled. "Sounds good. Pancake would like to say that he or she has the best Daddy in the world."

"And you're the best baby in the world, Pancake," he grinned, stroking her stomach. "Wait until Grandma hears about you. You're going to make her so happy," he whispered softly, then laughed when her stomach growled again.

"Sorry," Emily smiled, "But you only have yourself to blame. Pancake might have inherited your impatience."

Usually, he'd pretend to be a little hurt by her remark, but tonight, all he could do was smile. He wrapped his arms firmly around you, kissing you soundly. "I love you so much. Thank you," he whispered, "For everything."


End file.
